Reddit mentions: The best binocular accessories

If you're in Europe, getting her a field guide to European birds would be an excellent gift that encourages her to bird next time she visits you. I've heard good things about the Collins Guide, Princeton, and the Pocket Guide by Knightley.

Additional gift ideas you might consider are:

• A universal digiscoping adapter to take cell phone photos through binoculars or a scope
  
• Clip on lens cloth
  
• High-end lens-cleaning pen
  
• A nice pair of binocular straps (in case she just has normal, single strap)
  
  She may have some of those already. I bird for my job, and consider everything on that list an essential part of my kit!

I haven't found the need for the phase contrast in 8+ years, but I'd go with the standard plan achromat phase contrast objectives (10x, 20x, 40x and 100x lenses). I've used cheap phase contrast setups, and I'd rather have good optics instead of a cheap phase contrast microscope.


Frankly, I use the base model with this adapter from Amazon to use my phone to take pictures and video. It's not the easiest to setup, but for the money, it takes great pictures if you have a decent phone. Random picture from my setup (E200 with Gram stain sample).

price: $15-17 (canadian)

Skill level: Any

Photographer knowledge: Do they hike/ski/need a new strap?

OP/TECH Binocular/Camera Harness

Perfect for your hiking photographer.

I like this harness because it doesn't require me to remove my tripod plate, its dirt cheap, and it can hold 1 or 2 cameras so it has room to grow. Doesn't feel cheap at all either.

I found mine at best buy, but these are almost everywhere, my local mec has 3 on the shelf.

https://mec.imgix.net/medias/sys_master/high-res/high-res/8813688193054/5000828-NOC02.jpg

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5000-828/Binocular-Camera-Harness


https://www.amazon.ca/TECH-USA-Bino-Harness-Webbing-Black/dp/B000GTRBQQ/

EDIT: formatting, and photographer info

Trying it again, wasn't answered a few weeks back.

I have seen a lot of tracker related questions in here, but none of them were about the Sightron Nano Tracker. It is almost half the price than the iOptron skytracker and more than 100€ less than the Vixen Polarie.
I would like to know if someone used it and how accurate it is in comparison to the iOptron Skytracker and the Vixen Polarie.
I have seen on Astrobin only a few shots taken with a quite small point and shoot and they are quite blurry and noisy. I would like to use it with a Canon 70D and Samyang 14 mm f2.8 or with the Tamron 70-300 VC.

A new thought came to my mind: if I was to buy a tracking mount for 400+€ i could also invest the same into a nice telescope with goto mount and use the goto as a piggy back mount? Any thoughts on that in addition to my initial question ?

I have a harness strap I bought years ago, similar to this one. Best thing ever. No more weight on my neck, and if I bend over, it doesn't swing. They don't make the one I have any more, but the one I linked to looks very similar.

Something like this but I don't think this one will work...
https://www.amazon.com/Orion-05752-Monster-Parallelogram-Binocular/dp/B014ALPHKM/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cr_simh_1_2/143-9634294-5676327?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B014ALPHKM&pd_rd_r=26debd74-a226-4111-9114-2075097e8f76&pd_rd_w=bfh6x&pd_rd_wg=Gx8N3&pf_rd_p=31caee8f-ce20-49ad-9f29-d71df297ad52&pf_rd_r=0PK4JFTWMB9Z4DFQVTVD&psc=1&refRID=0PK4JFTWMB9Z4DFQVTVD

These are the parts:

Nikon Replacement Eyepiece

DK-22

DK-3

They can some times be found on sale, or bought all together you can get a deal sometimes.

Most of the results you'll find online about connecting a digital camera to a telescope will be about DSLRs where an adapter can connect directly to the lens mount in front of the sensor. Your camera has a fixed lens so what you're trying to do is called afocal photography. You're going to need an adjustable eyepiece tripod mount that will let you align the lens with the telescope. This might work but I'm not a telescope expert.

You can also use a mount.

Snapzoom Universal Digiscoping... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0169DL1F4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

KatzEye used to make high quality split prism focusing screens but they closed down unfortunately.

You can still find some cheap ones on ebay.

Also, consider getting the magnifying eyepiece as well.

The simplest telescope you can get that doesn't suck: http://www.amazon.com/10033-FunScope-TableTop-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B00FM4A108/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1450129488&sr=8-4&keywords=celestron+firstscope

and actually I have one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-21035-70mm-Travel-Scope/dp/B001TI9Y2M/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1450129526&sr=8-9&keywords=firstscope

and it's ...... alright.

You can also put most binoculars on a camera tripod with an adapter like this: http://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics-Universal-Binocular-Adapter/dp/B000FZQWMA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450129744&sr=8-2&keywords=binocular+tripod+adapter


But also, I don't trust anyone who can't wipe their own ass around my telescopes.